1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a broad improvement of input and output of data and provides significant improvement to a number of areas including data entry through keyboards, keypads, touchpads, scanned entry, and typed entry as well as output based opportunities in data compressions for improved storage and transmission that can be used to reduce the size of stored files as well as increase the usefulness of coded data. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for improved data input using frequency-based language analysis.
The data input portion of the invention relates generally to input devices, such as keyboards, keypads and touchpads, in connection with improved scanning of documents, spell checking, and predictive-based menus for language-based word entry. The data output portion of the invention relates to methodologies for data compression, storage and transmission, as well as expanding the ability of matrix and bar codes to convey increased amounts of information.
2. Description of Related Art
As microprocessor based devices have been reduced in physical size, a great demand has arisen for keyboards and/or touchpads (collectively, “keyboards”) that can be readily used with such devices, especially for the purpose of standard language (e.g., English-language) text entry. Various schemes exist for encoding various alphabets on small keyboards for use with such devices, but these keyboards have not completely satisfied this demand. For example, a number of handheld electronic planner/calendar products utilize different types of alphabetized keyboards for entering text. Although some of these keyboards follow the English character set layout popularized by QWERTY style keyboards (“QWERTY” stands for the organization of six letters on the second row of the keyboard), the size of the keys and the spacing between keys have been reduced to the point that the keyboards are not well-suited for rapid text entry. Users of such products are forced to use one or two fingers at a time to type text, typically referred to as the “hunt and peck” method of typing. The QWERTY layout is used on most computer keyboards as well as recently introduced expanded cellular devices, such as Apple's iPhone, Research in Motion's BlackBerry and the like. Unfortunately, small QWERTY layout keyboards are inherently difficult to use at a quick pace without introducing meaningful number of typographical errors.
The keyboard in Apple's iPhone, as well as various other currently existing portable electronic devices, employs a full touch-screen display that is designed to display different key images (e.g., a, b, c . . . z) in the familiar QWERTY layout and a variety of predefined sets of key images. But for many users, the size of each individual key image still is regarded as relatively small thereby making the keyboard user interface difficult to use to type messages and other word entry at a relatively quick rate and without errors.
Many current “standard-type” cellular telephones have a numeric keypad where users are able to generate text messages by depressing each keypad element (e.g, the “2” key) one or multiple times to select a desired letter associated with that keypad element. For example, the “2” key can be depressed two times during a text entry to insert the letter “b” into the text entry. Clearly, this technique for creating text is painfully slow, requiring on average two keystrokes per letter.
Other types of keyboards as well as dynamic keyboards and keypads are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,672, which is incorporated hereby by reference. This patent also describes a “dynamic predictive keyboard” that displays different character set layouts based on the previously entered character. While the technique disclosed in this patent seeks to increase the speed at which words are typed, significant improvements in enabling quicker text entry still are needed. In addition, the disclosed technique does not address other important issues including preventing or reducing spelling mistakes in text entry, increasing text entry rates in devices that do not employ full touch-screen interfaces, and other matters addressed below. Also many users do not type well and find it hard to tap small buttons without errors.